The present invention is especially directed to an arrangement by which articles of a generally cup-like configuration formed in a web of thermoplastic material and severed from the web in the mold may be conveyed clear of the mold in a controlled manner.
In a typical article forming operation of the type with which the present invention is concerned, a web of thermoplastic material is fed in step-by-step movement into operative relationship with a mold or die assembly having an article forming cavity located at one side of the web. Upon closure of the assembly, a portion of the web is displaced into the cavity, as by a plug assist operation, and the application of differential pressure to the cavity draws the thermoplastic sheet firmly against the cavity wall to thereby form a cup-like article. Because this operation involves the closing of a mold, it is convenient to employ, as the final step of the forming process, a severing step by means of which the formed article is severed from the web of material. While this operation offers the advantage of highly precise severing by means of a relatively simple mechanism, it frequently presents a problem as to how the now-severed article is to be transferred clear of the mold to a collecting station. It has been suggested that this transfer may be accomplished either by directing an air jet against the article or by using ejector pins to push the article clear of the mold (see Lyon U.S. Pat. No. 3,357,053 and Cheney U.S. Pat. No. 3,450,807). Both of these latter techniques provide for but a limited range of movement of the article and leave something to be desired insofar as accurate guidance of the article to a desired location is concerned.
The present invention is especially directed to a carrier means in the form of an endless chain of carrier members which grip the article immediately upon opening of the mold and carry the severed article from the mold along a precisely determined discharge path.